Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 101335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“I did. Jace, go!” Colt waited until Jace left the room before filling the nurse in on everything he had in mind. Her eager expression meant it might all actually work out!
***
Colt was barely cleaned and medicated before Jace came back through the hospital room door. He was smiling, talking, and laughing out loud at something someone behind him must have said. The last twenty-four hours of strain had magically faded away, leaving Jace looking years younger and devastatingly handsome. Colt was instantly taken with Jace, but again, Jace had always captured him body and soul. Colt couldn’t take his eyes off the man he loved. He was drawn to that smile, and even through the haze of medication, he felt his heart connect and his body stir. He loved Jace more than life itself. It was turning out to be a great day for a wedding.
Colt realized right then he’d give up everything, give his own life, to keep Jace safe. Thank God, he’d been in that car instead of Jace. The relief was staggering. He struggled to breathe even considering he may not have made it to Jace before he left the house that morning. The panic of the thought resolved his body’s stirring problem with a large dose of reality. Another big thank God! It wouldn’t do to have the hospital sheet tenting with a minister in the room.
“So this is who had me stopping everything to come to this room? He told me you were dying; you needed your last rites. You don’t look like you’re knocking on death’s door.” The minister’s voice boomed, and he chuckled at his own joke. His smile was equally as big as Jace’s, and he walked around Jace to the right side of Colt’s bed. Jace took his usual spot on the left. This time Colt reached out to take Jace’s hand in his own.
“Is it safe for you to be up like this?” Jace asked, worry creasing his brow. Colt’s nurse had lifted the head of his bed at a better angle, not quite sitting, but up more, positioning his arms carefully under layers of pillows.
“Jace hovers,” Colt deadpanned to the minister.
“He needs to hover. You were badly injured,” the minister said. Colt could tell the minister wanted to reach out and pat him, but he stopped in mid-motion, rejecting the idea.
Colt had gotten his hair tamed and his teeth brushed, but the bruising was still dominant. He knew he was a sight, but what else could he do? He couldn’t help the yawn that slipped out, either. He was exhausted and the medication the nurse had given him made it even worse.
“He was injured badly, and he overdoes.” Jace seemed to clutch on to the ministers words, gave Colt a look, and nodded, no doubt in total agreement with the minister. Jace was such a mother hen. Colt made a show of rolling his eyes.
“I understand I’m needed to perform a marriage ceremony. Is that right?” The chaplain broke the silence.
“Yes, sir,” Colt said. His voice was strong, clear, and decisive. He hoped Jace heard it that way.
“And you were married before this? You understand this is not a legal ceremony?” the minster asked, looking between Jace and Colt. He was serious now.
“Yes, sir,” they both answered in unison. There was a knock at the door and the nurse came through the doorway, followed by others from ICU, all holding bouquets of flowers.
“Perfect timing,” Colt grinned, tightening his hold on Jace’s hand. “It wasn’t much, but I asked her to buy whatever was appropriate from the gift store.” The nurses placed the flowers everywhere. Happy faces regarded him curiously, including Jace’s. No one looked like they wanted to leave.
“Thank you,” Jace leaned in and gave Colt a soft peck in front of others. Colt beamed like a man in love, which technically hit the mark.
“You’re our favorite patient,” one of the ICU nurses said, shrugging, taking a step back, clearly ready to watch the ceremony.
“I’m good with you staying. Are you good with it?” Colt asked, glancing at Jace.
“I am,” Jace said.
“Well, that’s good, because you didn’t see us asking, did you?” That caused a laugh and the chaplain wasted no more time. It took about five minutes of happy emotional overload before Colt got to say his “I do” and have Jace say the words back, and then he got to kiss his groom. The clapping only penetrated after Colt slid his tongue over Jace’s lips, gained entrance, and was retreating. Jace pulled away with a blush while Colt grinned ear to ear.
“My husband,” Colt sighed, his focus fixed on only one person in the room. Yeah, like he was ever going to be able to hide Jace away from anyone. What had he even been thinking saying something as dumb as that. Besides, regardless of Colt’s past, he believed in the sanctity of the union and planned to stay married to Jace for the rest of his life. Thank God Dr. Knox intervened in his life again. “I love saying those words.”
“I love hearing those words.” Jace leaned down and brushed his lips softly across his. The cheering started again as everyone congratulated them. Over the next few hours, Colt thought the entire hospital staff might have stopped by. Dinner consisted of two fully packed cafeteria trays, with two large pieces of white cake for each of them.
While they ate dinner Mitch stopped by. He came as part of the investigation, doing a full question and answer session with Colt. He wanted every detail of the accident, but Colt wasn’t a huge help. Most of the accident was just still too blurry to remember. He knew there had been a male in the truck who drove him off the road, but he couldn’t identify the face in his mind. Mitch never pushed him or got frustrated and truly believed the information would all come back to Colt in time. He seemed willing to wait. Mitch sat there, quietly talking to them when his father entered the room sometime later.